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Setúbal Peninsula, Portugal
After Lisbon, Charles and I rented a car and headed east to the Alentejo countryside for three nights. On the way, we spent the afternoon exploring the Setúbal Peninsula. This gorgeous region, just a short drive from the city across the Tagus River, features an array of diverse landscapes, with beautiful Atlantic beaches to the west, dramatic cliffs hovering above a turquoise coastline to the south, and a fertile interior of vineyards, farmland, and open pastures. It is hard to…
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Sintra, Portugal
Sintra is an enchanting town and region located just outside of Lisbon. It’s known for its stunning palaces, castles, and rich, green landscape – all of which make for a perfect day trip from the city. The concierge at the Palacio Ludovice arranged a full day tour for Charles and me through the tour operator, I Go Portugal. We were picked up at the hotel by our charming and quirky guide, Sonia, who packed us into her Audi and maneuvered…
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Lisbon, Portugal
Even before arriving, I knew I would love Lisbon. From what I’d read and the pictures I’d seen, it seemed like such a colorful and vibrant place. Plus, there have been many parallels drawn between Lisbon and San Francisco – my favorite U.S. city – like the undulating hills with beautiful views, the distinctive neighborhoods, each with its own unique character, and, of course, the big red suspension bridge crossing the bay (or the river, in Lisbon). So, after spending…
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Turin & the Langhe, Italy
On your first visit to Italy, it’s customary to start off with the “Grand Tour” – Venice, Florence, and Rome. For return visitors, you may want to see Milan and the lakes or Naples and Amalfi. If you should find yourself back in Italy for a third or fourth time, I highly recommend Turin, or Torino. I visited this vibrant city and the neighboring Langhe region in the fall of 2023 and was blown away by their beauty and authenticity…
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Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam had been on my travel shortlist for quite some time. In October of 2022, Charles and I were in London and tagged on a long weekend to visit the “Venice of the North,” as Amserdam is affectionately called due to its numerous scenic canals. I was hoping for a love affair, but the charm and allure receded after the first day – due in part to ADE, an annual electronic music festival that commandeered the city and had the…
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Costa de la Luz, Spain
After Seville, Charles and I headed to the Costa de la Luz, the western portion of Andalusia that abuts the Atlantic Ocean. This region stretches from the Portuguese border all the way down to Tarifa, the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. We stayed in Jerez de la Frontera, the sherry capital of the world, and explored the coast via a rental car. It was the one place on our Spain trip where I felt like we didn’t have enough…
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Seville, Spain
After spending several days in Seville last May, I very quickly understood why people so easily fall in love with this place. As the seat and one of the oldest and most important cities in Andalusia, Seville oozes historic charm from its narrow, cobblestone streets dotted with orange trees and elegant plazas ringed with Moorish-inspired palaces and palatial churches. It has a reputable food scene, with a mix of innovative and classic tapas bars on just about every corner serving…
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Puente Nuevo, Ronda, Spain
Another highlight from my May 2022 trip to Spain was seeing the Puente Nuevo in Ronda. This stunning pile of engineering spans the tajo de Ronda, a 400-foot-deep chasm carved out by the Guadalevín river, which separates Ronda’s casco antiguo, known locally as La Ciudad, from the newer part of town. I hiked down (and back up) the Camino del Albacar to a mirador located on a rocky crag with jaw-dropping views of the bridge and, to my surprise, a…
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The Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Every trip has its favorite moment. On a recent vacation to Spain, mine was the afternoon Charles and I spent in Granada touring the Alhambra. The day began in Málaga, our base for four nights, where we got an earlyish start to make the 80-mile journey to Granada in our rental car. We took the coastal route along the A-7, Spain’s meticulously maintained Mediterranean corniche. It was a gorgeous spring day, with a cloudless sky and a beaming sun blanketing…
